As is generally known, struts may be utilized to brace or support an unstable structure. For example, one or more struts may be positioned to brace one or more unstable structures of a vehicle following an accident. Struts may be used in a wide variety of other applications. In other examples, one or more struts may be used to support damaged structures within a ship or may be positioned to bear part, or all, of a weight of one or more of a wall, a ceiling, or a roof of an unstable structure. In certain examples, the vehicle, structure, or other object being supported or braced may be lifted or repositioned by, for example, responders to a scene of an accident. In such examples, the strut needs to be extended to continue to act as a brace/support for the object, to prevent undesired shifting or movement of the object.
In other applications struts may be used to lift or move a structure. For example, in some embodiments struts can be used to open a trench after a trench collapse. In such situations the strut must exert significant force to move or lift the collapsed trench through, for example, a highly pressurized strut. To exert such a force, the strut may be coupled to a compressed air device which may allow the strut to exert the force necessary to move or lift the collapsed trench. However, such a system may not be suitable for bracing or supporting applications, or the controlled readjustment of the strut in such applications. For example, such systems may not allow or easily facilitate the readjustment of the strut if an object shifts to, for example, put additional weight or stress upon the strut. Such systems may also result in improperly charged or dangerously pressurized struts if an object shifts such that it is no longer putting weight upon the strut.
Accordingly, a need exists for a controller that may be coupled to a compressed air device and a strut, and may be configured to safely and easily allow the readjustment of a strut, for example the relative extension of a telescoping portion of the strut, in relation to a shifting or moving object that is being braced or supported by the strut.